Houston Chronicle Extends Its Subscription Services Strategy With Feed Management and RSS Advertising Powered by FeedBurner

Business Wire, Nov 7, 2005

CHICAGO -- The Hearst Publication Has Already Begun Leveraging the Market-Leading Service to Provide Subscribers with Immediate Access to Breaking News

Houston Chronicle, one of the ten largest newspapers in the United States, has partnered with FeedBurner, the leading feed management provider, to expand its subscriber reach, attract customers and monetize its content in syndication. The Chronicle was one of the first to offer RSS feeds on its Web site and continues to create special feeds in response to breaking stories such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. FeedBurner's services have allowed Houston Chronicle to accurately track subscribers to this content as well as determine which news items are drawing the most interest.

"We recognized the power of this new delivery channel early on and realized we were uniquely positioned to not only provide subscribers with timely news delivered the way they want it, but also explore ways to extend our reach beyond traditional media," said Stephen Weis, General Manager and Vice President at Houston Chronicle.

Houston Chronicle has implemented a wide range of FeedBurner services to publicize its syndicated content and optimize feeds to be readable on all devices including mobile phones and PDAs. The newspaper is also tracking subscriber statistics to determine accurate circulation, which is compelling data for potential advertisers looking to reach subscribers via RSS feeds. Houston Chronicle is working with FeedBurner to evaluate a variety of methods for monetizing syndicated content, including the use of FeedBurner's proprietary RSS ad serving capabilities.

"The Chronicle team is very innovative and forward-thinking, blazing a trail down a path that many other commercial publishers will surely follow," said Rick Klau, Vice President of Business Development at FeedBurner. "We will help the Houston Chronicle deliver subscriptions everywhere as the variety and number of subscription-capable endpoints continues to explode, and we will similarly assist them in maximizing the value they obtain from this unique distribution and communication channel."

About Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas and the nation's seventh-largest newspaper, has evolved into a multimedia company publishing online and commercial print products, in English and Spanish, reaching specific audiences with unique delivery programs. In addition to the Houston Chronicle's 1.3 million daily readers and 1.8 million readers on Sunday, Chron.com, the Chronicle's online site, averages nearly 50 million page views and 3.8 million unique visitors each month. The Houston Chronicle is owned by the Hearst Corporation.

About FeedBurner

FeedBurner's advanced feed management technology delivers subscription services for publishers large and small to grow their reach, measure their audience and monetize their content. Founded in 2003, FeedBurner enables bloggers, podcasters and commercial publishers to reach millions of subscribers in more than 190 countries.

FeedBurner is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago. For more information about FeedBurner and RSS feed management, please visit www.feedburner.com.